(Arjun Walia) There’s no doubt about it: three letter agencies like the NSA, FBI and CIA and the ones we don’t yet know about are full of great people who want nothing but the best for their fellow human beings. People join these agencies because they have good hearts, and want to see the world thrive in a state of peace, equality, abundance and freedom. That being said, the “disastrous rise of misplaced power” to which President Eisenhower referred when referencing the military industrial complex, has taken a hold of these agencies, which now comprise what’s known as the Deep State. The Deep State is a covert network of powerful and influential people who continue to manipulate, lie, and deceive the public for their own interests.

Oh, by the way, it’s safe to assume that the Deep State also includes, as mentioned above, the agencies we don’t yet know about. We know this from looking at history: The National Security Agency (NSA) was founded in 1952, its existence was hidden until the mid 1960s; Another great example is the National Reconnaissance Office, which was founded in 1960 but remained completely secret for three decades.

Several presidents and politicians have also referenced this secret government, which doesn’t seem to be so secret anymore. That being said, it’s still important to reference given the fact that the average Joe still might consider the secret government to be a mere conspiracy theory. It’s a shame that anything associated with secrecy seems to garner an instant conspiracy response, especially when secrecy is rampant in our world, with “National Security” constantly being used to justify it.

But times are changing, thanks to efforts by a number of researchers, academics, journalists, whistleblowers and more, and information is rapidly spreading. So much so that internet censorship is on the rise, and platforms like Google and Facebook are now actually censoring information and deciding what is real and fake for the people, instead of letting people decide for themselves. For example, Google had to recently admit that their contractors suppress information, like the info provided by alternative media, not mainstream media.

“The problem of fake news isn’t solved by hoping for a referee, but rather because we as citizens, we as users of these services, help each other. We talk and we share and we point out what is fake. We point out what is true. The answer to bad speech is not censorship, the answer to bad speech is more speech. We have to exercise and spread the idea that critical thinking matters, now more than ever, given the fact that lies seem to be getting more popular.” –Edward Snowden (source)

But still, information is continuously pouring out for those who are sparked by curiosity, and now even more interesting information has emerged in the form of declassified documents, which can now be found in the national archives, or on the agencies own website, whichever agency it is.

In this case, it’s the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the document in question, written up in 1984, shows how the agency had definite plans to infiltrate academia and change/influence the curriculum, specifically journalism.

As Emma Best from Muckrock reports, recently Tweeted by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, memos from the CIA Inspector General’s (IG) office reveal the agencies perspective on the press and how to handle them. It’s from 1984, approximately three decades prior to when the Agency declared Wikileaks a hostile non-state intelligence service. It shows how the CIA viewed the media the same way.

Are organizations like Wikileaks really a threat to National Security? Or are they simply a threat to a small group of powerful people who make millions, billions, or even trillions of dollars via government secrecy? Are they a threat to the global national security agenda that is taking place, disguised under the guise of globalisation? Was president Vladimir Putin right when he said “imaginary” and “mythical” threats are being used to impose the Deep State’s way on the entire world? Perhaps truth and transparency are a threat yes, but not to national security. If we continue to ignore these questions, the national security state will continue to be heightened, one in which our rights are constantly violated, with our right to privacy being one of many great examples.

Several weeks prior, CIA Director Casey had asked the IG to weigh in on officer Eloise Page’s paper on unauthorized disclosure. The IG passed the task onto someone on his staff, who produced a four page SECRET memo for IG James Taylor, who passed it on to Director Casey. The IG specifically endorsed the proposal for a program where the Agency would intervene with journalism schools.

“To the Inspector General’s office, the reason that the press were the “principal villains” was simple: “absolute power corrupts absolutely” and “the power of the media to publish in this country is nearly absolute.” As a result of the media’s “absolute power,’ argued the Agency that had been involved in mind control attempts, illegal surveillance, tampering in foreign elections and dozens of assassinations, assassination attempts and coups, they had been corrupted absolutely. The member of the IG’s staff then suggested that they compare the media to the “opposition,” a reference to hostile intelligence services. This could be backed up by citing “precise parallels in methods and results, if not in motivations, between the media’s attempts to penetrate us and the opposition’s attempts to do the same.” – Emma Best

The document then goes on to list some proposed “do’s and don’ts,” as well as expresses the belief that “a sanitized list of foolish media disclosures that have cost the country or individuals substantially.” But again, as discussed above, have they really cost the citizenry, or have they simply cost some powerful interests?

The document also urges the Director to “remember” that “the organization has official contacts with influential people outside the Community – people in leadership posts in this society; academia and the media concluded; and remember that we undoubtedly have in the organization many who know such people unofficially and who could help provide access if needed.”

Quite revealing isn’t it?

Another document, relating to the same one discussed above shows an initiative to “call in media leaders,” whatever that means, and a system for screen disclosures by the media, and also mentions “centralized control of all press contacts,” as well as “control of press access.”

It’s quite ironic that this document is from 1984. George Orwell’s 1984, a classic book depicting a populace ruled by a political regime that persecutes individualism and independent critical thinking as “thoughtcrimes” that must be enforced by the “thought police” was also released that year. This party seeks power above all, and, through the propagandist Ministry of Truth, presents the people with their version of truth. Sound familiar? This is basically one of many tools used by the Deep State today. Sometimes, it seems that our thoughts, feelings and emotions are given to us, and we are so occupied with our lives that when certain individuals of groups become concerned with what is happening in the world, they come across enormous amounts of secrecy.

How many pages of documents does the US government classify every year? Some historians peg it at half a billion pages per year. For any journalist or researcher interested in the history of the country, how are they expected to really know anything when so much of it remains hidden from public view?

It’s unfortunate that the CIA’s control over media and academia is used today not for defense and freedom, but to deceive and push forth agendas in that which the public is completely unaware of. A great quote from Mark Twain comes to mind here:

“The statesman will invent cheap lies, putting the blame upon the nation that is attacked, and every man will be glad of those conscience-soothing falsities, and will diligently study them, and refuse to examine any refutations of them: and thus he will by and by convince himself the war is just, and will thank God for the better sleep he enjoys after this process of grotesque self-deception.”

It’s interesting to glance at the information/documents above, and then look at another from 1991.

A declassified document from the CIA archives in the form of a letter from a CIA task force addressed to the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency details the close relationship that exists between the CIA and mainstream media and academia.

The document states that the CIA task force “now has relationships with reporters from every major wire service, newspaper, news weekly, and television network in the nation,” and that “this has helped us turn some ‘intelligence failure’ stories into ‘intelligence success stories,’ and has contributed to the accuracy of countless others.” Furthermore, it explains how the agency has “persuaded reporters to postpone, change, hold, or even scrap stories that could have adversely affected national security interests or jeopardized sources and methods.”

The document not only outlines the CIA’s role in media, but also the entire entertainment industry in general, lending further weight to revelations offered by celebrities like Jim Carrey. He appeared as a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live, saying that, “For years now, talk show hosts, people on television, people in sitcoms have been hired by the government to throw you off the tracks, to distract you, to make you laugh and stuff like that, make you happy and docile so you don’t know what’s really going on.” Perhaps he wasn’t joking?

Perception control? Movies used as propaganda? Something to think about.

It’s good to see an effort from those within mainstream media create awareness about this as well.

Dr. Udo Ulfkotte, a prominent German journalist and editor for more than two decades, is one example. He blew the whistle on public television, stating that he was forced to publish the works of intelligence agencies under his own name and that noncompliance with these orders would result in him losing his job. (source)

Sharyl Attkisson and Amber Lyon, both well-known mainstream media reporters and journalists, have also exposed funded movements by political, corporate, and other special interests, and have revealed that they are routinely paid by the US government as well as foreign governments to selectively report and distort information on certain events. (source)(source)

James F. Tracy is a PhD from the University of Iowa. A former professor of communications at Boca Raton, Florida Atlantic University, he is also one of many who reports on this type of thing. He emphasizes:

“Since the end of World War Two the Central Intelligence Agency has been a major force in US and foreign news media, exerting considerable influence over what the public sees, hears and reads on a regular basis. CIA publicists and journalists alike will assert they have few, if any, relationships, yet the seldom acknowledged history of their intimate collaboration indicates a far different story–indeed, one that media historians are reluctant to examine.”

He published a great article going into more detail about the close relationship between the agency and the media:

I joined the CE team in 2010 shortly after finishing university and have been grateful for the fact that I have been able to do this ever since 🙂 There are many things happening on the planet that don’t resonate with me, and I wanted to do what I could to play a role in creating change. It’s been great making changes in my own life and creating awareness and I look forward to more projects that move beyond awareness and into action and implementation. So stay tuned 🙂 [email protected]
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